"Few tips, snow is a great insulator, but if it starts to melt and you get wet you will be in dire straights. Staying dry is the name of the game, even sweating too much is dangerous. make sure to account for ventilation. Also dig a "cold well" in your cave, this lets any cold air sit at the bottom, while your up top with the warmer air. a door is key, but you need airflow too."

- some survivalist blog

Just look up survivalist snow camping on google

But yeah, just some basic research and this can totally be done. But remember, the bigger the snow bank the bigger the room. Also put a hole above where you'll have your fire. Don't want it collapsing in the middle of the night haha.

"The ski bum trades security for face shots, the future for the moment. Considering how hollow the promise of a corporate career has become, who can say the ski bum is not the wiser investor in his or her youth?".

"I feel the same way about disco as I do about herpes." - Hunter S. Thompson

i'll put money down that a hollowed out snowbank will collapse after a week of staying in it. i've had snow caves fall in during the day when it was just above freezing. build an igloo, although they do suck to build by yourself.

"Everyone knows that the black iPhones run faster, but the white ones work harder." - 306.$

“After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military.”

I kept my OP short so as not to lose interest, but I assure you all, I have thought of a lot of the things you mentioned.
-I realized I misspelled the thread title the second I hit post
-it wont actually be in a snow bank, it will be back in the bush a little ways from the parking lot so I wont get plowed over or discovered
-into the wild is one of my favorite movies
-if the snow fort is hollowed out of packed snow, it wont melt melt in and collapse, further more, I will ice the inside with my stove set on high for a while.
- might possibly get miserable after a few days I admit it, but I love camping and testing my survival abilities and I do have the proper gear to pull it off. I'm from Saskatchewan, I work in northern Saskatchewan, where it isn't uncommon to reach -40C and closer to 55C with windchill, I'm pretty sure I can handle mild BC winters

I have a truck, and last week I actually spent the night unplanned in the back seat after getting stuck bumper deep in a snow drift in a field. Its not comfortable at all to sleep in, and I plan on staying for a month. A properly built quinzee will be much more comfortable, being able to actually stretch out completely in my sleeping bag.

If you don't do it for at least 10 days you will be for remember as a total pussy. And at that point should probably leave and never come back.

And even if you do it, what the hells the point. Go on a hike and do it on a mountain. What's the point of living in the snow in a parking lot? That's not exactly wilderness survival.

“After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military.”

i've done a lot of snow camping, and from my experience, igloos work 1000 times better than snow caves/snow forts/hollowed out snowbanks/whatever you want to call them. igloos are a lot more solid, a lot less likely to collapse, and will all around keep you warmer. i stayed in one where it was close to or lower than 0 degrees out and it stayed a comfortable low 40 degree temperature on the inside with an adult and a teenager. it was probably 8 feet in diameter and 4.5 feet tall, for reference.

"Everyone knows that the black iPhones run faster, but the white ones work harder." - 306.$

a few more reply's
-I dont want to get a cap for my truck because its a specific model and there arent many on the market, and im selling it so I dont plan on spending any money on it. I am however planning on getting one for my next truck.
-February is quite mild in BC, that may be a problem for melting, Im used to Saskatchewan winters.
-I am very familiar with melting sinking roofs, and I will say it again, I have good fort building skills, I discovered that a hard packed snow bank hollowed out, then iced over with a propane torch will prevent that.
-I actually have a really good job, one that allows me to take a month off, and I wont even bother being modest, I make a lot of money, but the point of this is getting back to my inner dirtbag and living as cheaply as possible.
-10 days, challenge accepted. Also, I realize its not exactly wilderness survival being that close to a parking lot, but I still want to be close to my vehicle so I will be able to wax skis, charge phone, dry wet gear of need be, drive into town (depending where I am) for groceries. And most importantly I still want to be close to the village so I can party
-an igloo is a lot of work for one guy, but then again so is building a quinzee.

keep in mind, I do have proper winter camping gear, although bulky (not back packing gear) it will work just fine. I grew up outside skidooing, ice fishing, camped outside on the ice and in the forest in -40C. my bag is a -30 and I have a low collapsible cot to keep me up off the snow. A candle is all I'll need for heat.

My sister had a challenge when we were younger to spend a night in a snow fort. We built it and it lasted over 2 months in Minnesota.

we built the fort to slightly bigger than the size we wanted the inside to be. then poured buckets and buckets of water over it for a few days except where the entrance would be. Then we covered it in snow and put a lot more water over it. Then we hallowed out the inside and the thing was legitimately entirely made of ice by the time we had it hallowed out.

Then we put down hay to keep everything on the ground dry. My dad drilled a few venting holes into it and they were good to go. It seriously lasted for so long though. It was a pretty awesome snow fortress.

I think you could do it but that it would take more than a day or two of set up.

I can't remember where it was but someone was killed in a snow bank a few years ago after building a snow fort in a ski area parking lot and spending the night. Evidently that plow is a bitch.

The Ski Bums Code to Succesfull liveing:

1) Never fry bacon when you're naked.
2) Always keep at least one foot on the floor when it comes to eating dinner,drinking tequila or playing cards.
3) Don't suck.
"I'd prefer ON3P to be a strictly 'gyspy only' company thank you." -Ginko